Here Now
by acatwithshoes
Summary: When she opened the door, she didn’t quite believe what she was seeing. He was supposed to be in Chicago, but there he was on her doorstep, standing silently in the rain. Loe.
1. Chapter 1

**THIS STORY CONTAINS NO REAL PEOPLE.**

**Yes, this story was deleted from this site by the admins who claimed that it contained real people. It does not. It contains CHARACTERS that have appeared on Hannah Montana.**

**That being said, I do not own of these characters and no copyright infringement is intended.**

**Okay, before this story was deleted, it had thousands of views, hundreds of reviews, over 80 favorites, more than 100 alerts. And I am SO grateful for that. You guys made all the hours I put into this so very worth it. You are the reason I am editing and reposting this. (And finishing it too! :P)**

When she opened the door, she didn't quite believe what she was seeing. He was supposed to be on tour. He was supposed to be in Chicago, but there he was on her doorstep, standing silently in the rain.

After a moment of simply staring at him, dumbstruck, the initial shock of his presence began to wear off and she noticed how awful he looked. He was completely drenched and shivering, dark circles loomed beneath his eyes, and somehow he just looked frail. It absolutely broke her heart.

"Joe," she said quietly as she pulled him to her, over the threshold and into the house. She wanted to ask what on earth he was doing there, but she figured he would tell her when he was ready. She shouldn't push him, that wasn't what he needed right then. So instead, she just put her arms around him and hugged him. He quickly returned the gesture and threw his arms around her, grasping onto her tightly, almost frantically.

Lilly pulled back and held him at an arm's distance to get a good look at him in the light. As she surveyed the situation, she took his hand. "We need to get you warmed up," she concluded. "And out of those wet clothes. I don't want you getting sick."

With that, she turned and led him upstairs, stopping him in the hallway. "Hold on." She went into her bedroom and retrieved some clothes of his that had somehow gotten left there months ago. Heading back out to the hallway, Joe was exactly where she had left him, dripping in front of the bathroom door. She handed him the clothes and a towel from the linen closet. He took them gratefully and disappeared into the bathroom.

Lilly proceeded back downstairs to the kitchen. As she gathered together all the things she would need to make hot cocoa and set about preparing it, her mind wandered back to why he was there in the first place, why he came crashing back into her life so abruptly. Why she would let him. She was pulled from her reverie when she noticed Joe standing awkwardly in the doorway. She motioned for him to sit down at the table and he did as he was told. Sitting down across from him, she handed him the mug and he took a sip.

As the minutes passed, Joe rarely made eye contact, seemingly more content to watch the marshmallows melt into his cocoa. "Hey," Lilly said finally.

He looked up at her. "Hey."

That was the first time she had heard him speak since he arrived. His voice sounded scratchy and gruff from overuse, and she wondered for a moment if he was already sick. "Do Nick and Kevin know where you are?" He shook his head with a monosyllabic grunt. "They're probably worried."

"I'll call Kevin," he replied, but made no move to take his phone out. She supposed that Kevin would have to wait for an explanation just as she was doing.

When he was finished, she took his mug and put it in the sink. "Come on," she said, gesturing for him to follow her. She walked into the living room and sat down on the couch, Joe at her heels. He sat down next to her and stared at the ground.

The room was dark except for the light pouring from the television, signaling the beginning of another boring night of primetime, and she couldn't help but notice how he looked in the pale light. He was so quiet, so uncharacteristic of himself, and something else… Broken. He looked so broken. "How did you get here?"

"Bus." He took a breath as if he was about to say something else but abandoned the effort before he got a chance and fell back into the stable silence.

Lilly mentally reviewed the situation. He had apparently left Chicago without telling anyone or packing anything, took a bus all the way to California, and shown up on her doorstep. But she still had no idea why. "Joe," she urged gently.

He looked up at her. That's when she noticed that there were tears in his eyes. "Lilly, I--" He cut himself off and made a facial expression that was something like wincing in pain.

She sighed and leaned forward to hold onto him. Maybe why wasn't important right then. He was there, and that's what mattered.

**So there was the first chapter. I hope you enjoyed reading it. I do love reviews, so please leave one if you get the chance, and I'll see you next chapter!**

**-Charlotte**

**P.S. –I'm just going to warn you now that I wouldn't be particularly surprised if any of my other stories are wrongly deleted. So if you read any of those, you may want to put me on author alert so you can tell when those are reposted if the need ever arises… Did that just sound like a shameless plug for myself? :P**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: First and foremost, THIS STORY CONTAINS NO REAL PEOPLE. It does, however, contain characters from Hannah Montana. I do not own these characters.**

**Hey guys. I was thrilled to see that there are still people who want to read this. So to all the readers and reviewers, thank you so much. You are the best!**

Hours had passed since his breakdown. They eventually reached a position where Lilly was sitting and Joe was stretched across the couch with his head in her lap. At some point, he had fallen asleep, though she really didn't mind. It was obvious that he needed it.

And now, she couldn't help but sit and stare at him, just trying to take it all in. _'He could have gone anywhere,' _she thought. _'But he didn't. He came here.'_ Just as the ten o'clock news was coming on to remind her that the world wasn't really as beautiful as it seemed from her current vantage point, she heard a buzzing sound. Looking down, she saw that it was Joe's cell phone laying in front of him on the couch. It must have fallen out of his pocket.

As carefully as she could, she slid out from underneath Joe and reached for a throw pillow to take the place of her lap. Slipping it under his head, she stood up and tentatively reached for his vibrating phone. As she picked it up, she noticed the front screen. "Kevin Calling."

Pausing for a moment, she weighed her options. It seemed kind of dishonest to answer his phone without him knowing. But then again, he had really left her in a predicament, and his family, too. They'd want to know where he was. He must have been MIA for quite awhile by now. And though she didn't want to admit that it was part of her reasoning, she still just wanted to know what was going on and was getting impatient. This internal struggle ended the same way most of hers did; impatience won.

"Hello?..."

There was a long silence on the other side of the line. She could only imagine that Kevin was trying to figure out if he had the wrong number after he heard the obviously not-Joe, obviously female voice. "Lilly?"

She was taken aback. "Uh, yeah, it's me."

Another uncomfortable pause followed. "Just tell me he's all right."

Lilly stopped to ponder this. How okay could anyone be if they're taking impromptu, cross-country bus treks to ex-girlfriends' houses and crying themselves to sleep on their couches?... Finally, she gave the most complete answer she felt she could at the time. "He made it here okay."

Kevin sighed. "I guess that's good at least. He uh, he's been kind of a mess. We've been pretty worried about him lately, and he won't really talk to any of us about it. And then when he was just gone and we couldn't get a hold of him…" He trailed off, not wanting to finish his thought. "What did he say when he got there?"

"Actually, he's only said something like five words the entire time he's been here. All I know is that he took a bus."

Kevin let out another sigh. "What are we gonna do with you, Joe?" he murmured.

And for the first time that night, Lilly lost her cool. "Oh Kevin, he looked terrible! He was completely drenched from the rain, and he looks like he hasn't slept in days. And then he wouldn't talk to me, and when he finally did, he just sounded so worn down. He's just so…"

"Not like Joe," he finished for her.

"Exactly! And I don't know what to do with him. We haven't even talked in weeks, then he just shows up here, all messed up. I don't know why the hell he chose here!"

"But he did, Lilly! He did. Please, just… Fix him?"

She laughed mirthlessly, suddenly indignant that after everything that had happened and everything Joe'd done, he was suddenly delegated to be _her_ responsibility. Taking a deep breath, her mind then turned to a different, maybe more pressing worry. "What if I can't?" she asked quietly.

"Just try. You have to."

She was angry. Why was he pushing this? "Oh, I do? I _have_ to, Kevin? I would love for you to tell me why I _have_ to!"

His anger was finally reaching the breaking point as well. "Because you love him, Lilly!"

"Just stop!" she interjected.

But he kept talking. "I'm not stupid. I know you do!"

"I am not having this conversation with you, Kevin!"

She heard him take a slow, steady breath, and his voice lowered. "Lilly Truscott, if you can truly tell me right now that you don't love him, I will be on the first Greyhound to go drag his ass back here." Her breath caught in her chest and she closed her eyes tightly, hating herself for what she was about to say.

"Okay," she whispered. "I'll see what I can do."

After she got off the phone, she hurried back to the living room hoping that Joe hadn't heard anything. Sure enough, he was still sound asleep and hadn't moved an inch. She couldn't decide if she should wake him up to move him to a bed. It would probably be more comfortable, and her roommate wasn't home so there was a spare. But in the end, she chose to just let him keep sleeping. She turned off the television and the kitchen lights, then crossed back through the living room and picked up a blanket from the back of the chair.

Carefully, she covered him up. "Why do you do these things?" she whispered, not knowing if it was addressed more to Joe, or herself. Switching off the hallway light on her way by, she retired to her bedroom hoping that she'd be able to get some rest.

**So there was Chapter 2! Thank you SO very much for reading. As always, I love hearing what you guys think, so drop me a review if you get the chance. See ya next chapter!**

**-Charlotte**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: First and foremost, THIS STORY CONTAINS NO REAL PEOPLE. It does, however, contain characters from Hannah Montana. I do not own these characters.**

**Wow! You people are incredibly! As always, thank you to the readers, and extra huge thanks to the reviewers!**

After a fitful night filled with more tossing and turning than actual sleep, Lilly couldn't take it anymore. She looked over to the clock on her bedside table. "6:07" it shone in bright red light. Sighing deeply, she dragged herself out of her covers and stood up. She changed into a pair of sweatpants and put on her tennis shoes. As quietly as she could, she crept down the hallway and toward the front door, giving Joe's sleeping form one last glance before she grabbed her sweatshirt off the hook on the wall and left the house.

She walked down to the beach and found a spot to sit on the sand. She loved this time of day. It was all hers. There was no noise, no term papers, no chores to be done. It was just her and the ocean. She didn't need to worry about anything, or any_one_.

A ways off into the distance she noticed two people walking out onto the beach towards the water. Though she couldn't be sure of their ages, they both looked to be maybe fifteen or sixteen. Each of them was carrying a surfboard, undoubtedly hoping to catch a good wave before they had to go to school. Lilly smiled, remembering when that would have been her. Her life used to be so simple. What had gone wrong? She had grown up, she supposed. And things would never be that easy again.

Joe was certainly seeing to that.

She sat for a long time just remembering and thinking. And feeling sorry for herself. Finally, she snapped out of her self-pity and decided that she should go back home. There was someone there who was worse off than her at the moment, and she would help him. Not because she _had_ to as Kevin insisted, but because she was decent. She would do the same for anyone… Right?

She was so distracted by her thoughts that she hardly noticed when she was back home. Stepping inside, she decided the next order of business was breakfast. The first step was definitely coffee. It seemed like she could never get it strong enough for days like this. But nonetheless, she got a pot brewing and started pulling out ingredients for scrambled eggs. Just as she closed the refrigerator door, she noticed that Joe was leaning on the side of the doorway watching her.

"Look who decided to join the world of the living," she said. He really did look much better than he had last night.

He smiled, if not a bit weakly. "Heh, yeah." He looked at her for a moment longer, then went and hopped up on the edge of the counter.

"Do you want some coffee?" she asked, going back to preparing the food.

He grimaced. "Not the way you make it. Too intense."

She nodded knowingly. "I assumed as much. Just thought I'd ask, though. So how'd you sleep?"

No answer. She turned around to find him staring into space. "Joe?"

He shook his head, snapping out of it. "Sorry, what?"

"I asked if you slept okay."

"Yeah, fine."

She nodded and turned around to start making his eggs. "Do you still not like the yolks?"

"Yeah," he said.

Lilly smirked. "Plain egg whites it is, then. It seems like you would have grown out of that by this age."

He shrugged. "I can't help it if they're yucky."

That sounded more like Joe. "And what about your toast?" she continued. "Should I burn it black for you?"

"Yes, but not as black as your coffee." She smiled. He was definitely doing better than last night, even if he was still a bit strange.

Soon, the food was done and they were sitting down to eat, Lilly with her scrambled eggs and Joe with his non-yucky egg whites. Minutes passed with only the clink of forks. Knowing that Joe would never start the conversation, Lilly took it upon herself. "You know, you're going to have to go back eventually." She surprised herself with her nerve.

"Why should I?" he asked somewhat bitterly.

Lilly rolled her eyes. "I don't know. For your brothers, so they don't worry?"

"They're fine," Joe insisted through the last bite of his toast. "I'm sure Kevin's called you by now, am I wrong?"

She chose to disregard that statement and move on. "How about so you don't get sued for ducking out on your tour?" she suggested as she took their plates to the sink and turned on the faucet.

"Humph," he grumbled. "They can take the money. I don't need it."

"That's a really nice watch you have," she interrupted, pointing out the expensive timepiece around his wrist.

He ignored her and continued. "I wouldn't be any worse off without it."

Why was he making this even more difficult? Why did he always have to be so maddening? She began busying herself with the dishes to keep calm and took a deep breath. "Joe, you're being selfish. It isn't as easy as all that."

A long pause. Maybe he was coming to his senses. "Why can't it be?" Or maybe not…

Forcing herself not to scream everything she was thinking, she forged on. "Joe," she said bracingly. "I let you show up here, and cry all over my favorite t-shirt, and sleep on my couch, no questions asked. But now you have got to throw me a bone. What's going on? How did we go from not talking to you showing up here? You just can't keep doing these things, Joe! You can't!" She whirled around to face him. She expected him to have jumped up from his chair, maybe already be yelling his response.

But she was wrong. He was still seated, leaned forward onto the table with his chin resting on his arms, calmly staring into space. "It used to be mine," he said matter-of-factly.

"What?" she asked incredulously, cocking her head to one side.

"That t-shirt. It used to be mine."

She shook her head and threw her washrag down into the soapy dishwater. "Me too," she muttered as she stormed out of the room.

He sat for a second longer with his gaze fixed on an imaginary point in the air, then turned to stare blankly at the spot where she had stood moments earlier. Sighing slightly, he got up to finish the dishes.

**Ooh, harsh, Lilly... lol. Hope you guys enjoyed Chapter 3. Leave me a review to tell me what you thought of it, if you'd be so kind. Until next time! :o)**

**-Char**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: First and foremost, THIS STORY CONTAINS NO REAL PEOPLE. It does, however, contain characters from Hannah Montana. I do not own these characters.**

**Again, I need to start out with a HUGE thank you! –For all the views, favorites, alerts, and especially reviews. You are all SO amazing! Now, onto Chapter 4!**

After he finished drying off the last plate, he went to putting everything away. He was almost surprised that he still remembered exactly where it all went. It felt like years since he'd stood in this kitchen. In actuality, it had only been something like two and a half months. Something like 73 days… Not that he was counting, of course.

When all the dishes were put away, he pulled the plug from the drain and leaned forward on the ledge of the counter, watching as the suds spiraled around the sink until eventually slipping out of sight. This was too much. It was never meant to go this far, but it was too late now. He needed to talk to her.

"You're an idiot, Joe," he muttered to himself.

He found her sitting on the floor of her room in the relatively small space between her bed and her dresser. She was facing away from him and appeared to be looking at something in her lap. He knocked lightly on the open door to announce his presence. Lilly quickly stuffed whatever she had been looking at under her bed and crossed her arms without turning to acknowledge him.

He stood self-consciously at the door for a moment, not knowing if it was okay for him to proceed. Finally taking her lack of protest as a go ahead, he walked into her room and awkwardly sat down next to her in the cramped space. He cleared his throat, not really knowing where to begin. "Um… I finished the dishes."

"Why are you here, Joe?"

He stuttered, surprised. "Well I… I don't know."

"You don't know?"

"I just… I'm sorry if you were hurt."

She stood up and turned around to face him; he followed suit. "That's it?" she asked amazed. "That's all you have to say after you ended it the way you did? You're sorry if I was hurt. And I'm just supposed to be fine with it then."

"You have to believe me. I never meant--"

"Just stop. Maybe this never meant anything to you, Joe. But it meant something to me! I might have just been a way for you to pass the time, but you were always more than that to me! Do you want to know what I was looking at when you came in?"

She bent forward and wrenched something out from beneath her bed. As she stood up, she thrust the object into his hands. It was a jewelry box. "Open it," she commanded. With a shaking hand, he obeyed.

She reached inside and pulled something out. "This," she said, displaying her find, "is a movie stub from our first real date." She hurled it onto the bed and pulled out something else. "This is a rose petal from that Valentine's Day." She threw it and reached back into the box. "And here's the ticket from the first concert you took me to. And the card from the flowers you sent me when I was so sick that time." She threw them down to join her other treasures. "Take a look through it. It's all there."

He opened his mouth dumbly, trying to decide what to say, but she beat him to it. "You were _everything_ to me, Joe. But obviously I was nothing to you."

"That's not true," he objected.

"Yes it is!" she said, snatching back the box and slamming it down onto her dresser. "You just keep doing this! You were only with me until you couldn't be _bothered_ with it anymore! Until you didn't want to be _tied down_ while you were on tour! You got rid of me so you'd be able to go mess around with other girls guilt-free!"

"I didn't know what I wanted! I was confused!" he protested.

"Just tell me one thing, Joe. Were they worth it?"

"I… no."

Her eyes narrowed. "Well I'm really sorry to hear that," she said, and began to walk out.

He grabbed her wrist and pulled her around so that she was facing him. She stared at the ground, refusing to meet his gaze. "Look at me!" he yelled, grasping her shoulders tightly. Reluctantly, she forced her head up and he looked her square in the eye. "Lilly… I love you!"

Before he knew what he was he doing, he pulled her into him and kissed her furiously. He had been waiting for this for so long, and it felt so right, that for a moment he didn't even realize…

She wasn't responding. He pulled back and saw that she had tensed up and her eyes were closed tightly. His face crumpled and he stared at her pleadingly.

With a shaky breath, she opened her eyes to look at him. "I'm sorry," she whispered as a tear rolled down her cheek. "I can't."

She rushed out of the room leaving Joe standing baffled, frozen in his spot. He heard the front door slam on the other end of the house. He hated himself.

**Oh Joe… It isn't going his way, is it? lol**

**Thank you VERY much for reading everyone! And thank you in advance to those of you who leave reviews. I'll see you all next time!**

**-Charlotte**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: First and foremost, THIS STORY CONTAINS NO REAL PEOPLE. It does, however, contain characters from Hannah Montana. I do not own these characters.**

**You people are too amazing! I'm honestly blown away by the amazing reviews I'm getting for this, even the second time around. It's so cool to know that you still love this story. Hope you enjoy the next chapter!**

**To avoid any confusion, I will mention that there was a time skip from the previous chapter to this one, and that will be explained in time.**

"Joe," Nick called, knocking on the closed door, "come on. We have to be on stage in like five minutes." No response. "Dammit," he swore under his breath. He tried again, louder this time. "Joe! Come on! I don't care if you don't want to be here right now! Everyone else does so get out here and fake it!"

Nick's fist was up, poised to knock once more when the door swung open and out walked Joe. Without any sort of acknowledgement to his brother, he swept past him, knocking his shoulder on the way by. Nick hung his head. "Grant me the serenity…" he grumbled and turned around to follow Joe.

Their show went by fairly normally, no surprises, and they were soon backstage again, packing up. Joe tossed down his tambourine and picked up a hat. "Well," he declared, "I'm out. Cheers."

"Wait," Kevin said, looking up from his guitar case. "You're really going out barhopping? Alone. On a Wednesday night."

"That's classy," Nick chimed in. Joe and Kevin both shot him a dirty look. "Uh, I'll be calling Miley," he mumbled, excusing himself.

Kevin continued. "Why don't you just hang with us tonight?" Joe looked at him for a moment longer before turning to head towards the door. Kevin jumped up to catch him. "Hold on," he called. Joe turned around and glared at him impatiently. "At least… At least let me go with you."

Joe smiled. "Sure, bro." Kevin shook his head and followed him out the back door.

They walked down the alley out toward the street. "This seems like a great place to get shot," Kevin said darkly.

Joe laughed. "It's about time you lived dangerously." Kevin really hated when he was like this. There was no stopping him.

A moment later, they reached the busy street. Joe turned back toward the traffic and raised his hand to hail down a cab. One stopped almost right away and they slid into the backseat. "Dive bar, please," Joe said. Kevin rolled his eyes.

After a long ride, the cab driver stopped on a corner. Joe paid him and they got out. Kevin stood warily examining their surroundings. He definitely was not familiar with this part of the city. "Another great place to get shot," he decided. "Or I don't know… score some heroin?"

"Oh please," Joe said, "start living your life." Kevin made a quick mental note that if this was what living his life consisted of, he wanted no part of it. But nonetheless, he followed Joe as he ducked into the door on the corner.

"I guess the cabbie wasn't kidding when he said 'dive bar,'" Kevin whispered to Joe as they walked through the door. The whole thing just looked dingy. It was poorly lit, and there was so much smoke billowing in the air that the few lights they did have were hardly doing any good.

"Come on," Joe said, walking off towards the bar. Kevin hardly had any choice but to follow. They grabbed two stools by the wall, right under a half-burnt out neon sign advertising a beer brand.

"So," Kevin began awkwardly, distracted by the vacant expressions of the barflies.

Joe didn't respond and raised a hand to call over the bartender. She walked over to them and leaned forward onto the bar, looking them up and down and smiling. "You guys aren't from around here, are you?" she asked in a high-pitched "baby voice" that Kevin instantly found unpleasant.

"Nah," Joe said. "We're on tour. Our band had a show in town tonight."

"Really?" she gushed. Joe nodded, obviously pleased with himself. Kevin rolled his eyes. It was almost sickening. "So what are you boys drinking?"

"Jack," Joe said. "Straight up." Kevin could just tell how cool Joe felt when he said that. He hated it.

"And you?" she asked, turning toward Kevin.

"Um, just give me a beer." She nodded and walked away to get their drinks.

"She's hot, right?" Joe said as soon as she left.

"Um, yeah… I guess," Kevin answered. They did not belong here.

"Alright," she said returning. "I've got a beer and a Jack, straight up." She set their drinks in front of them. "Anything else?"

"No, we should be fine," Kevin answered quickly.

She nodded. "Well if you need anything else, just gimme a whistle," she added with a wink to Joe. "I'm Candi."

"Of course you are," Kevin muttered, taking a sip of his beer.

For a while they just talked about how the set had gone, but it wasn't long until _Candi_ was back, absolutely eating up every stupid story Joe could think of. Halfway through his second bottle of beer, Kevin decided that he couldn't stand to hear one more grating "Oh my god, Joe, you are _so funny!_"

"Hey Joe, I'm gonna go call Nick. I'm pretty sure he has no idea where we are." He got up to walk outside but stopped in his tracks and turned back toward Joe. "And you behave yourself while I'm gone," he added as an afterthought. Unfortunately, Joe was too busy to hear him. Kevin shook his head and walked out the door.

Once he got outside, he took a deep breath, happy to be clearing the smoke out of his lungs. Leaning against the building, he pulled out his cell and held down Nick's speed dial.

The other line picked up after only one ring. "Where the hell are you?!"

"Okay, not the 'hello' I was hoping for, but that's cool," Kevin joked uncomfortably. "So what's up?"

"What's up is that I want to know where the hell you guys went! I got off the phone and you two were just _gone!_" Nick screamed.

Kevin sighed. "I know. And I'm sorry."

"So where are you?"

"Uh, we're actually at this horrible bar…"

"A bar? You took him to a bar?"

"I did not _take him_ to a bar. He was gonna go out and I thought--"

"That you would _encourage_ it by taking him to a bar?" Nick interrupted.

"_No_," Kevin said, doing his best not to get angry. "I thought it was better if I went along. He was going to go either way, and I didn't want him wandering around by himself."

"Well, I guess that makes sense," Nick said somewhat sheepishly. "You could have brought me with, though."

"You're underage."

"Another good point…" Nick mused.

"Right. And I'm sorry I didn't call sooner. It was just really spur of the moment. I wanna get out of here as soon as I can, though, so we'll see you in a bit. Okay?"

"Yeah, okay. I'll see you then. Bye."

"Bye," Kevin said. He shut his phone and took one last deep breath of decent air before he headed back in.

When he got back, he noticed that Candi was down at the other end of bar making a drink for someone else. "Hey, I--" He cut himself off when he noticed the three tiny glasses lined up in front of Joe. He sighed, running his hand through his hair, and sat back down. "So you took some shots while I was outside then?" he asked calmly.

"Yes I did, brother," Joe said grinning.

Kevin nodded. He picked up one of the shot glasses and smelled it. "Tequila?"

"This was not _just_ tequila, Kevin," Joe slurred, the alcohol already beginning to take effect. "It was Patrón."

"Patrón," Kevin agreed.

"Definitely."

"Mmhmm. So you had like six drinks in like 45 minutes, huh?" Kevin said, resting his chin in his hand and turning to face Joe.

"I most certainly did!"

Kevin nodded. "You're pretty fucked up right now, aren't you?" Joe just laughed. Kevin took a deep breath and held it for a moment before releasing it loudly. "Okay, Joey, I think you're all done for tonight. We're going to get you back to the hotel, all right?"

"But what about Candi?" Joe slurred. He was getting drunker by the minute.

"Ya know, let's not worry about her, okay?" Kevin shot her a dirty look and threw some money down onto bar. "Come on," he said. He grabbed Joe's arm and led him back out to the street. By some miracle, they were able to hail down another cab and headed off back toward their hotel.

Joe was pretty far gone by the time the taxi dropped them off. He stumbled on his first step out of the car and almost went down. It was obvious that he wasn't going to get too far on his own. Kevin caught him and hoisted him up over his shoulder. "Good thing you aren't very big, bro."

He stepped through the automatic doors and headed toward elevators, still awkwardly carrying Joe. "Don't worry about us, people! Go back to your lives!" he yelled sarcastically as he noticed how many bystanders had stopped to stare at them.

Finally, they had made it up the elevator to their floor, and Kevin was standing outside his door, fumbling to get his key out of his pocket without dropping Joe. He was getting heavy. After quite a struggle, he got it and walked into the room. But there was…

"Nick!" Joe said. Oh no. He didn't need to see this.

"Uh, hey," Nick began uneasily. "I was just waiting for you guys…"

"Go back to your room, okay? I'll talk to you in a little bit," Kevin told him. Not knowing what else to do, he did as he was told. Once Nick was gone, Kevin dropped Joe onto the extra bed.

"What are we doing?" Joe asked.

"Sleeping it off," Kevin replied, pulling off Joe's shoes.

"I thought I was staying with Nick," he said half-incoherently.

"Not tonight. You're gonna stay with me so I can keep an eye on you. Besides, I don't want our little brother to have to see you like this." Joe grunted his response. "And the trash can is right here. Please don't puke all over everything."

"Hey Kev?"

Kevin sighed, trying to keep calm. He was so completely frustrated with the events that had transpired, but it wouldn't do any good to yell at Joe when he was like this. "Yeah Joe?"

"You're a really good brother."

"I know," he said, doing his best to cover up Joe despite the fact that he was laying on top of all the blankets.

"Love you, Kev," he slurred.

"I love you too." Soon after that, Joe was out cold.

Kevin rubbed his eyes and leaned against the wall, trying to ignore the massive stress headache he was developing. "Dammit, Joe…"

**So there was maybe the craziest chapter in this story! (And the main reason for the higher rating lol)**

**I really like this chapter. I liked writing it a lot, I LOVED hearing the response to it the first time around. I know there were a lot of mixed feelings, but you really did have a lot of interesting things to say about it. We'll see if it's the same this time.**

**Thanks so much everyone. See ya next chapter!**

**-Char :o)**


	6. Chapter 6

**First and foremost, THIS STORY CONTAINS NO REAL PEOPLE. It does, however, contain characters from Hannah Montana. I don't own these characters.**

**Hey everyone! As always, gotta say thank you to my stellar readers and reviewers and all those who've added me to favorite and alert list. Incredible!**

**Another thing, I know there was a little bit of concern over the drinking in the last chapter, and I just want to remind everyone that this story is set a few years into the future, if that makes a difference. Either way, I thought it was interesting to read your comments!**

**With alllllll of my notes FINALLY out of the way, here's Chapter 6!**

The next morning, Joe woke up with a splitting headache. And whatever that loud whirring noise was wasn't helping. "Shut up," he yelled.

Kevin turned off his blow dryer and stuck his head out of the bathroom door. "Hey, look who's conscious."

"Keep the damn blow dryer off."

"Oh, I'm sorry. Is it too loud?" Kevin asked with mock compassion.

"Yes," Joe answered.

"Hmm…" Kevin began thoughtfully. "Don't care." He turned it back on, on a higher setting this time, and went back to working on his hair. Joe moaned and rolled over, trying to cover his ears with his pillow.

Finally, Kevin was finished and the awful noise stopped. Joe sat up and tried to remember what had happened last night.

Unfortunately, his thoughts were interrupted when Kevin came striding out of the bathroom. "Morning," he said pleasantly as he ripped back the drapes from the window.

"Ah!" Joe groaned, trying to shield his eyes from the bright light that was now pouring into the room.

Kevin paid no attention to the complaints and walked over to Joe. "So do you want to tell me what the hell that was about last night?" he asked, crossing his arms and glaring at his brother expectantly.

Joe ran a hand through his hair and swung his feet over the edge of the bed. "Okay, so I went a little overboard." That much he was sure of. The details, he was still a little fuzzy on.

"A _little overboard? _Joe, we were there for less than an hour and you got drunk off your ass! We caused a scene in the lobby!"

"Whatever, like they've never seen a drunk person before. And I wasn't even that bad!" Joe insisted, not really sure if that was true.

"Nick had to watch me _carry_ you in here because you were too smashed to walk without falling on your face."

Joe blanched for a moment and furrowed his eyebrows. But he snapped out of it quickly. "I don't need to listen to this," he said as he stood up to leave.

Kevin shoved him back down. "Yes you do! I'm sick of it! You can't keep this up!" Sinking down onto the other bed, he put his head in his hands. "And I can't either," he mumbled miserably.

For another fleeting moment, Joe was filled with guilt. "I never asked you to do anything."

"Well I didn't really have any other options, did I?" They fell into a tense silence. Finally, Kevin lifted his head up and looked Joe straight in the eye. "I know you don't like it."

Joe rolled his eyes. "Please don't start this 'cry for help' bullshit again."

"I know you don't. You try to act like you're loving it, but afterwards, all you ever have is a hangover and a whole bunch of regrets."

"Shut up!"

"You can't handle real life, so you pick a drunken stupor instead."

"Oh come on! So I party, it's not like I'm out there snorting coke!"

"So? You're still losing yourself one night at a time! And it's selfish!"

Joe jumped up. "I'm outta here!"

But Kevin didn't stop. "You're falling apart and you don't care who it hurts!" he yelled as he, too, jumped to his feet. "And it's all because you're a _coward!_ Instead of just accepting it, you keep trying to run away from it, and it's killing you!"

"Accept what?" Joe growled.

Kevin's eyes narrowed. He leaned in so he was only inches away from Joe's face, and his voice dropped to an eerie calm. "That she's gone. And it's your fault." Joe tensed visibly, but he went on. "And now," he said, looking him up and down, "she deserves better. And you know it."

That was it. At that moment, something inside Joe snapped. Kevin could see it on his face. For a second he thought Joe was going to hit him, but he didn't. Without a word, he turned around and walked to the door.

There was a loud bang followed by the door slamming. Rushing over to see what had happened, Kevin noticed that a fist-level piece of plaster was missing from the wall and lay crumbling on the carpet. "Fucking perfect…"

As he stood staring at the wall, his pocket began to vibrate. He pulled his phone out and answered it. "Hey Nick. You all ready?… Yeah… No, he's fine. Just sleeping it off. He'll be okay here by himself… No, I'll just come down there… See ya in a minute." Wiping a tear off his face, he walked out the door.

**Sad! :( Poor Kevin. Okay, this one was sorta short, but it was a logical break point before the next chapter which should clear up a LOT of back story questions. So gear up for that. **

**Next, I have a question: While looking at my Story Traffic page, it said there were a LOT of people from outside the U.S. reading this. And I just thought that was so cool! Are you all really from the places it says you are? How many international readers are there? **

**That's all I got. Thanks for reading, and a HUGE thank you to those of you who review. See ya next chapter!**

**-Charlotte**

**P.S. – A SHAMELESS PLUG: I posted some new Joe/Lilly stuff, so check that out if you have the chance. "Tag" is just heaps of angst and the new chapter of "Punch Lines" is a fluff-fest, so take your pick! Love you all!**


	7. Chapter 7

**First and foremost, THIS STORY CONTAINS NO REAL PEOPLE. It does, however, contain characters from Hannah Montana. I don't own these characters.**

**Hey amazing readers! You guys are, well, amazing! I'll just keep it short and say: Enjoy Chapter 7!**

Kevin walked down the hall to Nick's room. He noticed that the door was being held open by the latch, so he walked in without knocking. "Good morning," he greeted with a smile he prayed looked genuine.

"Hey," Nick said unenthusiastically, only looking up for a moment before going back to idly strumming his guitar.

"So you're all set for breakfast then?"

Nick stopped playing and threaded the pick through the strings at the end of the neck so it wouldn't get lost. "Yeah, except… Can I ask you something?"

"Sure," Kevin replied, walking over and taking a seat on the bed opposite Nick's. He had a sinking feeling that he knew what this was in regards to.

Nick bit his lip hesitantly. "Um… What's been going on?"

Kevin shook his head. "Just try not to worry about it," he said quickly, trying to dismiss the issue.

"Stop dodging the question," Nick said. "I mean, I'm not dumb. He's just been such a jerk lately. And I know that he's out drinking almost every night, even the times when no one tells me about it. Why don't you trust me enough to let me in on this? Why do you still try to keep things from me? I know I'm younger than you, but I'm an adult now. Besides," Nick added quietly as he fiddled with a loose thread on the comforter, "he's my brother too. I think I deserve to know."

Kevin sighed. He wished Nick wasn't so good at guilting him. "You're right," he spoke.

"I am?" Nick asked, looking up.

"Yeah. It wasn't fair for me to lie to you, even if my intentions were good. Sometimes I just forget that you aren't a little kid anymore." Kevin paused. "So I'll do my best to keep you informed from now on, okay?"

Nick nodded, pleased that his brother was finally ready to discuss this with him as an equal. "Let's start with last night," he suggested.

Kevin took a deep breath and nodded. "Last night. Okay," he started, and finally began filling in all the blanks and telling Nick what he knew so far.

Meanwhile, Joe was absolutely fuming. He stormed down the hall, into the elevator, and down to the lobby. He was all the way out to the street before he realized that he had no idea where he was going.

He was so wound up and frenzied that he hardly knew what to do with himself. His hands flew up to his aching head and grabbed two fistfuls of hair. "Fuck!" he screamed as loud as he could into the sea of unfamiliar faces. He ignored the puzzled looks of some of the passersby and chose a random direction to start walking.

His sense of time was skewed, but it must have been at least twenty minutes before he finally regained some of his composure and came to a dead stop in the middle of the crowded sidewalk. "What the hell am I doing?" he said absentmindedly as he stared up at the impossibly tall buildings.

He looked around and spotted some generic diner across the street. It seemed as good a place as any. He rushed up to the corner to catch the swarm of people that was beginning to cross the busy intersection, just one more face in the anonymous stampede. It felt good this morning.

Reaching the other side, he stepped into the diner and sat down in a long booth. With a sigh, he laid his head down on the cool formica tabletop.

"Are you alright, dear?" Joe's head shot up. There stood an older woman, holding a pen and a pad of paper and looking at him with concern. He looked at her nametag. _Estelle_.

"Uh, yeah…" he said, still shaking himself out of his daze.

She smiled. "So what can I get for you?"

"Coffee," he said flatly.

"Coffee it is," she said as she wrote something down on her notepad. She smiled and turned to walk away.

"Wait!" he called, and she turned back around. "And really strong, like maybe bottom of the pot."

She looked at him a bit curiously. "Hmm, we don't get much call for that, but I'll see what I can do," she smiled.

While he waited for his coffee, drumming on the table with his fingertips, he remembered something Kevin had said to him. Joe reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. He opened it up and started writing a text message. **I'm safe, be back later. **He was about to send it, but stopped to add one more thing. **I'm sorry about earlier.**

As he put his phone back into his pocket, Estelle returned. "Here we are," she said as she filled up his coffee cup. "Special batch just for you."

He nodded his thanks and lifted the cup to his lips. He blew on it and took a sip. Besides mildly burning him, it was stronger than almost any coffee he'd ever had and left an acrid taste in his mouth that seemed to last long after the drink was over. He hated it… It was perfect.

As he finished his cup, sip after caustic sip, he finally allowed himself to think of the thing he hadn't dared to think of since he left it some three weeks ago. It was actually more like 23 days… But again, who was counting?

_After he had tried to kiss her and she ran out, he almost went after her. Until he reminded himself that she didn't want anything to do with him. Especially after his latest screw-up._

_She was gone for several hours. He probably should have left then, but he didn't. He just wanted to see her one last time. When she did return, she never mentioned the incident again, and basically tried to act like nothing happened. But it was obvious that she was still upset. She was still cordial to him, but something about her just seemed distant and cold._

_Late that night, he awoke from his sleep and heard something. He got up from the couch to follow the noise to its source. He soon found himself standing outside Lilly's bedroom. Doing his best to stay quiet, he pressed his ear to the door._

"_I just can't do it!" she sobbed. "I'm sorry. But I trusted him. I gave him everything. And he just threw it back in my face! I don't love him. When he left… My heart broke."_

_Joe swallowed hard as his did the same._

"_I'm sorry, Kevin," she continued. "I wish I could, but I can't. Not anymore. Just… just come get him."_

_That was all Joe needed to hear. He walked out to the living room and laid back down. Introverting, he stared at the ceiling until morning._

_When Lilly woke up the next day, he pretended to be asleep. She came out of her room and sat down next to him on the couch. "Joe," she said quietly, gently shaking him awake. He took a moment to try to memorize her touch before he opened his eyes and swallowed the lump in his throat. "Kevin called me last night. He said he's going to come bring you home today. He should be here really soon." Joe just nodded._

_True to Lilly's word, Kevin arrived half an hour later. As Lilly let him inside, he leaned down and gave her a tight hug. Joe could tell that he felt bad for her. And why shouldn't he? She didn't deserve this shit. Kevin pulled back and looked at her for a moment before turning to awkwardly wave at his brother._

_Joe walked slowly to the door, knowing that this might be the last time he saw her. He stopped in front of her and just stared. He was praying for some miracle, that she would just suddenly change her mind for some reason. Unfortunately, his wish wasn't granted._

_She reached out and hugged him. It was stiff, mechanical, but he cherished every moment of it. He held onto her securely and put his face in her hair. He felt like he could have stayed that way forever, but Lilly had other plans. She let go of him and pulled back. "Well," she said grimly, "have fun on the rest of your tour." She gave a halfhearted wave and one last loveless look at Joe, and disappeared down the hallway, leaving them both standing uneasily in the entryway._

_Kevin smiled sadly over at Joe, unsure of what to say in a situation like this. So he just put his arm around him. "Come on. We have to get to the airport."_

Joe was distracted from his thoughts when Estelle walked by and refilled his coffee cup. "Thank you," he said dazedly.

"What's her name?" she asked knowingly.

Joe was confused. "Pardon me?"

"I asked what her name was."

It finally dawned on him what she meant. Did he really give himself away that easily? "Lilly."

"Lilly," she repeated. "That's a lovely name."

"Yeah," Joe mused. "It really is. It suited her well."

"And what happened to her?" Estelle asked.

Joe took another bitter sip of his coffee and thought about the last thing Kevin had said to him. "She deserves better than me now," he stated plainly.

"So go out and change that," Estelle said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Life's too short to give up on love, and I promise that you'll never find her at the bottom of that coffee cup." With that, she walked away.

Joe was left more than slightly stunned. It was true. What everyone had told him was true. Kevin, Nick, Miley, even Estelle the waitress. They were all right. He was collapsing in on himself like a supernova. But maybe it didn't need to be that way. He tossed a twenty on the table and stood up. Smiling what felt like his first real smile in months, he shoved his hands in his pockets and walked out the door.

**So now that little time skip is explained. I hope the timeframe is making sense to everyone. And I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. I liked writing it. Honestly, I can't get enough of writing Kevin "older brother" moments! Haha, well, thanks so much for reading, incredible people! Reviews are appreciated!**

**Until next chapter! Peace out :o)**

**-Charlotte**


	8. Chapter 8

**First and foremost, THIS STORY CONTAINS NO REAL PEOPLE. It does, however, contain characters from Hannah Montana. I don't own these characters.**

**Thanks to all the readers and reviewers from last chapter! It was amazing to get so many comments. It seriously brightened my day! :o) Here's Chapter 8!**

As Joe walked back toward the hotel, the events of the previous night felt like years ago, his horrible hangover nearly forgotten as his mind focused in on this sense of newfound clarity. He felt like he was floating. Maybe he could fix this yet.

He was used to things falling into his lap, his life falling into place automatically, and girls falling for him without him having to lift a finger. But now, he didn't want that anymore. He didn't want _them_ anymore, and maybe he never really did.

When he finally reached the hotel, he passed on the elevator and went scrambling up the stairs instead. He was too wired to stand still that long. Upon reaching his floor, he rushed out of the stairwell and ran all the way down the long corridor to his room.

Nick was sitting on the end of his unmade bed talking his on cell phone.

"Nick!" Joe yelled happily as he yanked open the door.

Nick jumped slightly, startled by the sudden appearance. "Uh, Miles? Can I call you back? Yeah… Love you too..." He put his cell phone back in his pocket and looked over to Joe, who was positively beaming, if not a bit winded. "Why are you so happy?" he asked suspiciously.

"Where's Kevin?" Joe asked quickly, still wearing his goofy grin.

"He went back to sleep. I'm pretty sure he didn't get a lot last night," Nick said coldly.

Joe's smile faltered. He supposed this was his first step in making it up to everyone. He took a seat next to Nick and turned to face him. "Look, I wanted to apologize. I'm sorry about last night and all the other nights. I know I was a stupid jerk. I was just so…" He trailed off and looked down at the ground. "I guess I don't have a good excuse. I shouldn't have taken it out on you. I'm sorry."

He waited for a response, but it never came. He looked up to find Nick staring at him with a melodramatic look of surprise. "What?" he asked with an uneasy glance around the room.

"Is it true?" Nick gushed sarcastically. "_Joe_ is here _humbling_ himself and _apologizing?_" Joe rolled his eyes at him, but he went on. "He isn't trying to weasel his way out of it or blame it on an imaginary friend?"

"Not this time," Joe said, smiling in spite of himself.

"He's taking real live responsibility for his actions? Like a grownup? And he isn't--"

"Alright!" Joe cut him off in slight annoyance. He already knew that he screwed up. Did Nick need to torture him with it? But then again, he'd probably be doing the same thing right now… "So do you accept my apology?"

"I don't know," Nick said as sincerely as he could. "I mean, there are a lot of things I have to take into consideration. And I--"

"Oh come on!"

Nick chuckled. "I'm kidding. Yeah, you're forgiven." He paused. "Thanks."

Joe hugged his brother. "No, thank _you_." After they broke away, they sat quietly for a minute. "So…" Joe began, breaking the silence, "wanna do me a favor?"

It was Nick's turn to roll his eyes. "Are you serious?" Joe's pleading expression proved that he was. "Alright," he sighed, "What do you need?"

"I need to get Lilly back," he stated firmly.

"Whoa," Nick said, putting his hands up as if in surrender. "I thought you wanted to borrow money or something. I don't know how to get your girlfriend back. I don't think I'm the best guy for this job."

"I just need advice. I screwed myself over royally, but there must be some way to fix it."

"I'm no good at getting out of trouble," Nick pondered aloud. "I'm better at staying out of it in the first place… And besides," he started louder, "I don't know if I'd _want_ to help you with that. I mean, she didn't exactly take it well before. I don't know if I'd want to subject her to that again…"

Joe felt a pang of guilt but didn't weaken his resolve. "Please, Nick. I'm a changed man!" Nick raised an eyebrow skeptically. "Well, okay. That sounded cheesy. Really, though. This is killing me. I have to make it right."

He lifted a hand to the back of his neck and exhaled loudly. He was torn. "Okay," he said reluctantly. "Call Miley. She knows the most about this since she's been playing both sides…"

Joe's face lit up. "Perfect!

He turned around to leave, but Nick stopped him. "Wait!" Joe flipped back around on his heels. "Just don't get your hopes up. Even _if_ you get the chance, that doesn't mean it'll work."

Joe nodded, "Thanks, brother!" and turned back around again, heading toward the door.

Nick shook his head. Kevin was right; there really was no stopping him. "There's aspirin on the bathroom counter," he called out. There was no answer, but the rattle of the pill bottle and the slamming of the door told him Joe had found it. Thinking for a moment, he pulled his phone back out and wrote a text message. **Joe's gonna call you soon, so brace yourself. I think he means it this time.**

Miley heard her purse begin to beep at her from its spot next to her on Lilly's couch. It seemed rude to answer it, especially since her phone had already interrupted them a little while ago. But then again, Lilly was too busy pacing around, delving into minute fifteen of her rant on the "college equivalents of Amber and Ashley" to even notice. What she doesn't know won't hurt her, right?

Reaching into her bag, she pulled out her phone and popped it open. One New Text Message. She stifled a laugh, knowing it was Nick again, and opened up the message. _Wait._ _Joe?_ She couldn't be here when she took that call…

"All I'm saying is that if you read on like, a 7th grade level, why would you take an English lit course in the first place? I mean, there are other options. They could have--"

"Hey Lils?" Miley interrupted, just as Lilly was picking up more steam.

"--just taken a lower level course. I don't know what they were expecting when they registered for it. I can't imagine that either of them has ever even _heard _of Lord Byron, much less wanted to familiarize themselves with--"

"Lilly!" Miley tried again.

"Sorry, what?" Lilly asked, reacquainting herself with the real world.

"I need to take a call… from Nick!" she added a little too eagerly.

"Again?" Lilly asked flatly, putting her hands on her hips.

"Yes. He said it's something important. Please?" Miley implored.

Lilly narrowed her eyes for a fleeting second, but finally hung her head in defeat. "If you must," she conceded, waving her off.

"Great!"

Lilly watched Miley jump up from the couch and head towards the door. "Well, you don't have to--"

"Be back in a little bit!" Miley called brightly. Lilly shrugged her shoulders and sat down on the couch to flip through the channels until her friend returned.

**Uh-oh, think Miley's gonna go for it? Haha, thanks for reading. Hope you enjoyed it. Let me know what you think if you get the chance. Love you all! See ya next chapter!**

**-Char**


	9. Chapter 9

**First and foremost, THIS STORY CONTAINS NO REAL PEOPLE. It does, however, contain characters from Hannah Montana. I don't own these characters.**

**Reviewers = amazing. Enough Said. :o) Here's Chapter 9!**

Miley took off walking down Lilly's street. She had only been going a minute or two when, true to Nick's word, her phone started ringing. Joe Calling. She took a deep breath and answered it. "Hello?"

"Hey, Miley," he greeted nonchalantly. "How have you been? I haven't--"

"Just cut the crap and get to the point, Joe."

He laughed uneasily. "Nick told you I was calling, huh?"

"Yes. And frankly, I'm a little stunned."

"You thought I'd never get my act together?" he asked, trying not to get too defensive.

"No, I thought you'd finally be done doing this to Lilly."

That stung. He didn't quite know what to say.

"Listen," she continued, "you're not a bad guy. You just… you can't expect her to keep this up any longer."

"Just hear me out," Joe said beseechingly. "I want to fix this. Everyone deserves a second chance."

"You're right, but yours came about five chances ago," she countered. "You two have been in this little cycle for _years_. Honestly, you're getting too damn old for it, Joe."

"I know! It's just different this time."

"How? Because this time you're a self-destructive _train wreck?_ You going out and having a grand mal hissy fit didn't change anything. I'm sorry that it got to that point for you, but it didn't undo any of your previous actions. It didn't make it okay… Pity and forgiveness aren't the same thing, Joe." As the words left her mouth, she winced at how harsh she sounded. He needed to hear it though.

She expected him to flip out, or hang up the phone, or pull out the laundry list of excuses he always seemed to keep handy. But he didn't.

"I know that," he said quietly, deliberately. "I've been trying to figure things out, and it just occurred to me that I already had. And I know that I was horrible, and that I don't deserve her, but I have to try. Please."

Maybe Nick was right. Maybe he did mean it this time. Miley sighed in slight exasperation. "I'll talk to her, try to find out what's up…" Joe started to voice his thanks, but she cut him off. "_But_… I'm not making any promises. And I have the power to pull the plug on this at any time!"

"You're amazing, Miley! Thank you!"

"Yeah, we'll see," she mumbled. "And just so you know, up until now at least, I've 'forgotten' to tell Lilly what a mess you are so she wouldn't worry."

"Thank you," he said sincerely.

They said their goodbyes, and Miley started wandering back to Lilly's, wondering how the hell she should approach this. When she stepped back through the door, she found Lilly sitting on the couch, engrossed in an episode of _Iron Chef._

"I didn't even know they played this without the English dubbing over it," Miley said vaguely as she joined her friend on the couch.

"Hmmuh," came Lilly's mumbled response. She was too strangely fascinated to bother with real words.

"What's the ingredient today?" Miley asked as her face began to match Lilly's puzzled stare.

"Something with tentacles…"

When the show finally ended and they were released from its hypnotic pull, Miley decided that she should just get this thing over with. "So…" she began awkwardly, "I talked to Nick."

"Oh yeah," Lilly said, tossing the remote down and turning to face Miley. "How'd that go?"

"Um, good."

"Good," Lilly said as she reached for latest _Us Weekly_ that was laying on the coffee table. "It sounded like something serious."

"Yeah. I guess Joe had a rough night last night," she stated carefully.

Lilly froze for a split second, but quickly went back to thumbing through her magazine. "Oh really?... Is he okay?" she asked as casually as she could.

"Yeah. Yeah, he's fine. No permanent damage."

Lilly nodded. "Sick!" she squealed as she turned over the magazine to show Miley the article she had just found. "Can you believe they're getting married?"

"Oh my god, no way," Miley said with unconvincingly fake enthusiasm. It seemed to satisfy Lilly, however, who went back to flipping through the pages. "So they'll be back soon, huh?" she said, ungracefully trying to get back to their original topic.

"What?"

"The guys. It's almost the end of their tour. Like a week from Monday, right?"

Lilly shrugged. "I don't know," she lied. "Something like that." The truth was that she had circled that day on the calendar months ago.

It was becoming clear to Miley that Lilly was going to resist this little talk every step of the way. She needed to get more direct. "So it's been a while since you've talked to Joe."

"I suppose so," Lilly answered tersely.

Miley paused, not sure if she was brave enough to say what she wanted to say next, and not totally convinced that it was a good idea in the first place. She cleared her throat lightly. "Do you miss him?"

Lilly's eyes shot up and she stared at Miley from behind her magazine. "Well… I don't think--"

Just then, the front door swung open. "Oliver!" Lilly said, happy to abandon her answer to the previous question. "You're home!"

"Yes I am," he said through the huge bag of laundry he was carrying. He dropped it in the middle of the entryway and noticed Miley sitting on the couch next to Lilly. "Hey! I didn't know you were here!"

"Really?" she giggled. "Because you boxed me in," she said pointing out the front window to her car, which was now trapped in the driveway thanks to Oliver's truck.

"Oh yeah," he said guiltily. "Well…" he trailed off with a shrug.

She laughed and got up to go give him a hug. "So I hear you have a new _laaaady_," Miley said in a singsong voice.

He smirked, cocky as ever. "It's true. She just couldn't resist hopping on the Ollie Trolley."

Miley wrinkled her nose. "You're gross."

"Well, I know at least one girl who would beg to differ," he said as he stepped over the laundry bag and headed toward the couch.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Lilly said, putting a hand up. "Don't just leave that in the middle of the floor."

Oliver rolled his eyes. "Okay, _Mom_." He picked up the bag and did his best to sling it over his shoulder despite the size of it. He turned to Miley. "She does this all the time," he whispered loudly before turning to head down the hallway to his room.

"That's because you're always a slob," Lilly called after him.

Both girls laughed, and Miley sat back down and sighed. She loved Oliver, but damn… He had awful timing sometimes.

**Yay! Oliver! Haha I rarely write him, but I really love his character. Anyway, there was Nine. If you'd be so inclined, let me know what you thought of it (pretty please) and… that's all I got! See ya next chapter!**

**-Char**

**P.S. – DENI!! I'm mos def gonna review your new chapter once the holiday madness dies down a little. –Maybe later tonight or tomorrow. I'm pumped for it!**


	10. Chapter 10

**First and foremost, THIS STORY CONTAINS NO REAL PEOPLE. It does, however, contain characters from Hannah Montana. I don't own these characters.**

**I want to say THANK YOU SO MUCH to all of you who leave wonderful and constructive reviews. It means the world. Hugs for everyone!!**

**Haha, and now onto Chapter 10. I gave you guys a kinda long one this time. Hope you enjoy it!**

After Oliver had crashed their conversation, it took a while before Miley got Lilly cornered enough for her to try again. In that time, she had seriously considered not going through with it, but then she remembered the look on Lilly's face when she said something had happened to Joe, and how totally sincere and shamelessly desperate Joe had sounded on the phone. His annoyingly frequent calls asking for updates probably didn't hurt either…

Her chance came several days later when Oliver strolled out the door mumbling something about pizza rolls and she and Lilly were finally alone again. She wasn't sure how she should bring it up since they were in the middle of watching a movie, so she just plunged in headlong and went for it. "Joe's gonna be home in a week," she stated plainly.

Lilly rolled her eyes. "Wow, that was subtle."

Miley was slightly embarrassed but forged on. "Are you going to talk to him?"

"I don't know," Lilly said with a shrug. "I haven't thought that far ahead." It was partially true. Every time she found herself thinking about it, she tried to force her mind onto something else.

"Hmm," Miley answered, deep in thought. The whole conversation had started so tactlessly, so what hell… "Do you miss him, Lilly?"

"Does it matter?" she snapped. Her face softened when she noticed that Miley had recoiled back slightly. "I'm sorry. I just… Yes, I miss him. But that alone isn't a good reason to do… _anything_, I suppose. He was the one person that I was supposed to be able to trust to never hurt me, but he hurt me the most. And maybe the worst part is that I was stupid enough to let him. Over and over again. And I know you can't just wake up one morning and decide to stop caring about somebody, but god I wish I could. After all the shit that happened, I'd give anything to do that," Lilly finished quietly. Her eyes had started to tear up, but she was trying to hide it and stared blankly at the ground.

Miley was left with her mouth slightly agape. Excusing herself, she got up and walked down the hall to the bathroom. Stepping inside, she closed the door behind her and pulled out her cell phone.

"Hello?" Joe answered after only one ring. He must have been waiting for a call.

"I'm out."

"What?"

"I'm out," Miley repeated. "If you want to talk to her, I guess I can't stop you, but I'm done. I shouldn't have agreed to this."

"W-what did she say?" he stammered.

"She just wants to forget you, Joe, but she can't. If you had a heart, you'd let her," she said. Then the line was dead.

He slowly lowered the phone from his ear. He was shocked. "I've never fucked anything up this badly in my entire life," he murmured.

"What was that?" Kevin asked as he opened the door.

"Nothing," Joe said quietly as he got up to leave. "I'm going out."

Kevin grabbed his shoulder to stop him. "Joe," he said warningly, "we have a show tonight, not to mention that it's the middle of the day." Not this again, please…

"I know that, but I just have to get out of here. I'll be back on time. And I won't do anything stupid." He noticed the frown on his brother's face. "I promise," he added.

Kevin looked at him reluctantly. Finally, he let go of him and took a deep breath. "Okay. I trust you."

Joe nodded his thanks and left. When he got down to the lobby, he asked the front desk to call him a cab and sat down to wait for it. How was he going to fix this now? What if he couldn't?

"Sir?" Joe looked up, startled. It was the woman from the desk. "Your taxi's here."

"Thanks," he mumbled. He got up and moped out the rotating glass doors. Spotting his cab, he slid in the back seat.

"Where are you headed?" the driver asked.

It wasn't until the question was posed aloud that Joe realized he had no idea. He definitely had a bad habit of not thinking ahead. "Uh…" he hesitated. He wished he could go back to the diner where he had felt so alive and certain that it would be okay, but they were hundreds of miles from there by now. "MSP," he said with as much conviction as he could muster. He wasn't exactly sure what he was going to find at the airport; it was just the first thing he had thought of. The driver nodded and pulled into traffic. Joe leaned his head on the window and went back to his thoughts.

Just as they were pulling off the freeway, Joe noticed something. "Hey, can you just leave me off right up here?" he called up to the front.

The driver gave him a confused look in the rearview mirror. "Suit yourself," he said and pulled the car over.

"Thanks," Joe said quickly as he paid his fare and got out. He walked about half a block down the sidewalk until he reached a bench. He sat down and began inspecting his surroundings.

There really wasn't much around. He was alone there. There were no houses. A couple blocks down the street there was a building with lots of freight trucks parked around it, but other than that, there were no businesses. Behind him, though, lay a huge cemetery. He figured it must be a military cemetery with all the bright white headstones lined up in perfect rows. The whole scene looked pretty depressing, especially in the pale light of the cloudy day. For a moment, he actually had to fight back the urge to laugh at the whole thing. "I'm so pathetic…" But he could see the planes from there.

Out across a wide field of pavement was the airport's elaborate series of runways. Joe watched as minute after minute, planes took off and landed in their never-ending cycle. "This is kinda nice," he said to no one in particular. "I don't know why people kill themselves over this," he joked to himself. He remembered hearing somewhere that air traffic controllers had the highest suicide rate as an occupation.

He decided that it seemed like a novel thing, to watch the planes. It seemed like a silly, self-important activity that would be considered to have all kinds of faux deep meaning and significance. It seemed so… Kevin. Really, he just liked to space out and watch the pattern. Like putting an infant under a ceiling fan…

But at the moment, it was the best he could come up with. Usually he would have gone out to a club, made some friends for the night, bought everyone a couple rounds, and ultimately ended up back at his hotel room with a girl whose name he probably wouldn't remember. But he had promised Kevin he would behave himself, so there he sat.

The planes could only keep up their job for so long, and his mind eventually turned back to Lilly. Maybe he wouldn't get her back and he'd have to live the rest of his life knowing he only had himself to blame. And what Miley had said this morning… That couldn't happen though. There's always a way to fix it, right? If he could just tell her that he had learned his lesson… just like he had all the other times. No wonder she couldn't trust him anymore. She wouldn't like it, but he just needed to find a way to make her listen to him. And he at least deserved for her to know that he was sorry.

He reached into his pocket to retrieve his phone when one last horrifying thought popped up. _If you truly, selflessly loved her, would you be doing this at all?_

He did his best to push that away, then opened his phone and dialed his first speed dial. _Lilly._

It rang once, twice, three times… And eventually went to voicemail.

"Hey, it's Lilly! Leave me a message and I'll call you back!" There was a pause, and somewhere in the background you could hear a faint "Ha!" followed by a "Hey! St--" before the loud beep signified that he was now being recorded.

He quickly hung up. He wasn't sure what he wanted to say yet, and if she was screening, as he assumed she was, his message had better be good.

He couldn't help but smile, though. It was so nice to hear her voice, even if it was only for two seconds on a cell phone. And she sounded so happy, on the verge of laughing through the whole thing.

He had been sitting right next to her when she'd recorded it, trying to mess her up and make her laugh. He snickered as he remembered that he was the "Ha!" as well as the reason for the following "Hey! St--" at the end. That was when he had grabbed her and started tickling her. She tried to be annoyed about it, complaining that her message made her sound dumb and it was all because of him, but he knew that she wasn't really mad. After all, she had never recorded a new one. He wondered for a moment if she realized that he was still in her voicemail message.

Meanwhile, the girls were at end of the movie they were watching. Just as the credits began to roll, "The Best of Both Worlds" began blaring. Miley gave Lilly a look as if to say, "_Still?_"

Lilly cracked a smile, but it quickly faded when she read the front screen of her cell phone. Joe Calling.

Miley noticed the frown on her friend's face. "What? What is it?"

"Um, nothing," Lilly said quickly as she hit a button to ignore the call.

**Ooh, denied… Think he's gonna get through to her?**

**Okay, random brain teaser (cause I'm just a huge geek like that.) I based the setting of this chapter on a real U.S. city. It's pretty specific so you'd probably have to be from the area to recognize it, but does anyone know the city? Just curious.**

**Love you guys. Thanks for reading and reviewing! Peace out :o)**

**-Char**

**P.S. –SO I JUST RECEIVED MY FIRST FLAME. I've never gotten one before, on any of my stories, so that was kind of funny. I know now that this story is "retarded" and that I shouldn't write anything until I've read "real" stories, we have no sense of reality, oh, and we're apparently all losers. So yeah, just thought I'd pass that along. And it was left by an anonymous reviewer named "save the penguins" so it must be TRUE! ;)**


	11. Chapter 11

**First and foremost, THIS STORY CONTAINS NO REAL PEOPLE. It does, however, contain characters from Hannah Montana. I don't own these characters.**

**Alright, it's official; you're all incredible! With the last chapter, I broke 100 reviews. Extra thank you/shoutout goes to **_**snowstardreams**_** who was #100 Yay! And another extra thank you to those of you who left supportive messages regarding that silly flame. You're wonderful.**

**So I wasn't going to put this chapter out until tomorrow, but I was just too excited to wait that long, so here it is! Enjoy!**

The next week passed slowly for Joe. He tried calling Lilly a couple more times, and at some point he had left her a scripted message, basically just apologizing again and saying that he hoped he could talk to her when he got back to California. She never called him back, but he wasn't really expecting her to.

But now, it was almost time for him to see her. He could finally go and talk to her and say all the things he knew she needed to hear.

"This is it, guys!" Joe said as the longest car ride of his life ended and they were finally, FINALLY home.

"We know," Nick and Kevin chorused for what felt like the millionth time that day. Patience had never been Joe's strong suit, and he certainly hadn't let them forget it.

"I'm gonna do it!" Joe yelled, still smiling like a madman. Without waiting for a response, he rushed inside to retrieve his car keys. When he got back out, Kevin and Nick were standing in the driveway getting ready to unload the van.

"You aren't going to help us?" Kevin asked, feigning surprise.

Joe laughed. "Sorry, Kev. Bigger fish to fry!" he called as he got into his car. As he pulled out of the driveway, Nick yelled something that sounded distinctly like "Don't screw it up!" before getting slapped in the back of the head by Kevin. Joe chuckled at his brothers and sped off to see the only girl he had ever really loved.

After the second-longest car ride of his life, he found himself sitting on Lilly's doorstep. Who would've guessed he'd chicken out at the last second? He sighed miserably as the same worries he'd had all along began to dog him again. What if she wouldn't listen? What if he was just destined to die poor and lonely?

"But no," he began to reason aloud, "you have to. It can't possibly get any worse than it is now, right? You can't be a coward forever, Joe. You just can't." He stood up hesitantly, only partially satisfied by his own pep talk, and rang the bell.

Lilly looked up from her brownie batter when she heard the doorbell ring. "Keep stirring those for a sec, okay?" Lilly said as she dropped the spoon back into the bowl and pushed it toward Oliver.

He sighed. He was only interested in eating the brownies, not making them. "Fine, I guess," he pouted.

Lilly brushed her hands off on her jeans and walked out to the entryway. As she pulled open the door, her jaw dropped. "Ohhh no. No way. Not again." She went to close the door, but a hand reached out and stopped it.

"Lilly, just wait," Joe said as he pushed the door back open and invited himself in.

She crossed her arms. "You really have some nerve. I'm not catering to this anymore."

Just then, Oliver came sauntering out of the kitchen licking the big wooden spoon Lilly had been using to stir the brownies. "Hey Lils, were you done with this…" He stopped dead in his tracks when he noticed who was standing in their entryway. "Spoon…" he finished quietly. For a moment, he very much resembled a deer staring into oncoming headlights. Taking a deep breath, he pointed awkwardly back toward the kitchen. "I'm just gonna go, head back to the… thing."

"No, Oliver. Just stay. This won't take long," Lilly asserted.

"Or I'll stay," he muttered darkly under his breath and went back to eating his brownie batter.

Lilly turned back to Joe and looked at him coldly. "I finally learned my lesson. I thought you would have too."

Joe glanced up at Oliver, uncomfortable that he would have to say all this with him in the room. This should be something that was private, but it looked like he didn't really have a choice in the matter. He sighed and leaned forward to grab hold of Lilly's shoulders, doing his best to ignore how she flinched at the contact. "I have, Lilly. That's why I'm here. My life's been hell since I lost you."

"Since you _got rid of me_," Lilly corrected as she wriggled out of his grasp and took a step back.

"And I was stupid for it!" Joe said, exasperated. "It was easily the dumbest, most shit-for-brains thing I've ever done, and I know that! I know that you didn't deserve any of this. I know that you've put up with more than anyone should ever have to. But believe me, I've been paying for it every single day. I can hardly eat; I barely sleep unless you count passing out drunk…"

"So you want me to feel sorry for you?" Lilly cut in quietly. "Like you're the victim here? Like I didn't have to go through anything?"

"No, of course not. I just… I love you, Lilly. And I finally understand what that means. I don't need the other girls anymore. I don't want them. I just want you."

Lilly took a shaky breath. "You had your chance."

He did his best to swallow the lump that was forming in his throat. "I know I did, but I blew it. And that's why I'm begging you for another one. Please, Lilly. I want to be with you again."

She shook her head quickly. "I just can't, Joe."

"Why not?" he whispered, totally unprepared for what she was about to say next.

"Because…" She bit her lip and looked at the ground. "I'm with Oliver now."

Joe's mouth dropped open and his eyes darted back and forth between Lilly and Oliver. "Are-are you serious?" he stuttered, his voice rising unintentionally.

Joe and Lilly both turned toward Oliver, staring at him expectantly. He swallowed his mouthful of batter, spluttering as he half choked on it, and dropped the spoon to his side. "Um. Yes."

**Ha, so what'd you all think? Hate me yet?... :P Haha, well, thanks so much for reading. See ya next chapter!**

**-Charlotte**


	12. Chapter 12

**First and foremost, THIS STORY CONTAINS NO REAL PEOPLE. It does, however, contain characters from Hannah Montana. I don't own these characters.**

**I've gotta say, I was **_**very**_** pleasantly SHOCKED at the reaction to last chapter. It was the most reviewed chapter thus far, adding to my theory that I have the best readers **_**EVER.**_** :o)**

**Again, I was going to wait until tomorrow put this next chapter out, but after last chapter's response, I felt guilty making you wait :P So here it is!**

Joe was absolutely stunned. She was with Oliver now? He never would've guessed it. Not in a million years. Sure, back when they were dating, he would get weird or uncomfortable about it every once in a while, but when it came down to it, he never _really_ thought anything would happen. It was just silly jealousy. "But… but how?" he stammered, turning to Lilly.

"How do you think?" Oliver asked with a cocky grin, setting down his brownie spoon and puffing his chest out slightly. "Maybe I'm just better at giving her what she wants." He didn't notice how both Lilly and Joe's eyes widened at his statement.

He was a little too in awe of himself at the moment, of how confrontational he was being. Usually he'd rather just stay out of things like this, but the truth was that he had never been particularly fond of Joe. Sure, he thought he was a cool guy to hang out with, but Oliver had always secretly hated him a little bit for the things he'd done to Lilly. He'd always just kept it to himself, not wanting to cause any drama. But now it looked like he had just thrown that goal out the window.

'_Giving her what she wants?'_ Joe clenched his fists for a moment, but then shook his head and turned back to Lilly, not wanting to bother with Oken at the moment. "You always told me there was nothing going on between you two."

"Yeah, well… Things change, Joe," Lilly spat, perhaps more venomously than she had meant to.

He frowned, obviously hurt, and took one last look between Lilly and Oliver. "Okay," he said quietly. "I guess I'll just get out of your way then." Without another word, he showed himself out the front door.

Lilly collapsed down onto the couch and put her head in her hands. "Why does he just keep doing this?"

Oliver sat down next to her and put his arm around her. "I don't know."

"And did you see that look on his face?" she asked, raising her head up to reveal that there were tears sparkling in her eyes. "I didn't mean to sound that harsh. I just want him to leave me alone. I didn't want to hurt him. Well, not _really_."

"Well, you know what I think?" Oliver said hesitantly.

"Hmm?"

"I think he's finally getting what he has coming to him."

When Joe returned to the house, Kevin and Nick were just sitting around, relieved to finally be home. Their peace and quiet was interrupted as they heard the front door slam. "Hey, how'd it go?" Nick called out.

His question was answered as Joe came moping around the corner, dragging his feet. "What happened?" Kevin asked carefully.

Joe didn't respond but instead laid down in the middle of the floor and put an arm over his face. Kevin rolled his eyes. Melodrama, thy name is Joseph.

"Dude, what did she say?" Nick tried.

"She's dating someone else," he said flatly.

"What?" Kevin and Nick asked in unison.

Joe erupted into fake, slightly maniacal laughter and sat up. "Oh, and it gets better, too. Wanna hear the best part about it?" Nick and Kevin exchanged worried glances. "Well, it turns out that her new _boyfriend_ is… wait for it… Oliver!"

"When--" Kevin began, but he was cut off as Joe jumped up and continued his rant.

"That's right," Joe said dramatically, beginning to pace, "the guy she promised me she had a totally platonic relationship with. She hooked up with _Oken_. '_Smokin' Oken,_'" he added patronizingly, "biggest loser in the universe. I am _so_ much cooler than Oken."

"I thought you liked Oliver," Nick interjected, but Joe was totally oblivious as he descended into full meltdown mode.

"And ya know, it seems like someone could have bothered to tell me this _before_ I went over there and made a jackass out of myself by getting shut down right in front of him! And now I'm stuck here alone, without the girl I love, and I'm not even allowed to drink, and it's all _Oken's_ fault! Good thing you guys gave me such fucking awesome advice. _'Just talk to her, Joe.' 'Just tell her you still love her and you finally get it this time.'_ It really seems to be going great so far, don't you think?" Joe finished, whipping around to face his brothers.

They both sat on the couch staring at him in complete shock, Kevin with his mouth hanging halfway open, and Nick cocking his head to one side trying to decide if he should be upset or laughing.

"I think you've reached a whole new level of crazy," Kevin said slowly.

Next to him, Nick was trying rather unsuccessfully to keep from smiling. "I think you sound like a moody thirteen year old." Kevin bit back a grin.

"This isn't funny!" Joe whined.

"I don't know," Nick said. "You were really spazzing…"

"For real!" Joe shouted.

"No," Kevin said, becoming serious again, "we know it isn't. But you can't be a weird, jealous lunatic, okay? Just take a deep breath, calm down, and talk to us."

Joe did as Kevin instructed and plopped back down on the floor, sitting cross-legged with his elbows on his knees and his chin resting on his knuckles. He let out a defeated sigh. "She has a boyfriend."

"And it's Oliver?" Kevin asked, still a bit unbelieving. Joe nodded affirmatively. "How do you know?"

"Because she told me. And so did he. Ugh, and they _live together_…"

"Don't do that to yourself," Kevin said, knowing where Joe's mind was about to go. "So when did they start dating?"

"I'm not sure," he said with a shrug. Then, glaring at Nick, he added, "_No one told me_."

"Whoa, don't look at me," Nick said quickly. "I'm just as surprised as you are. Miley never mentioned it, which seems weird..."

Joe sighed again and ran a hand through his hair. "So what am I supposed to do now?"

Kevin paused, thinking. "Well," he said finally, "do you have any reason for thinking she shouldn't date him-" Joe was about to answer, but Kevin raised his hand to stop him and went on. "_Other_ than the fact that he isn't you?"

Joe looked at the ground. As angry as he was with Oliver, he still knew that he was a decent guy who had always cared a lot about Lilly. "No," he answered truthfully.

"And do you think he'll treat her right?" he cautiously pressed on.

"Yeah, I do," Joe said miserably. He looked up at his older brother. "You're going to say that I should do nothing, aren't you?"

Reluctantly, Kevin nodded.

**Ooh, so what do you think is going on?**

**This chapter was fun to write, with Oliver's outburst and Joe's reaction. Hope you enjoyed reading it. Drop me a review if you can! Lots of love to you all!**

**-Charlotte**

**P.S. – I know I have a history of writing one-shots that some people have problems with since they're mostly about pretty touchy subjects –abortion, suicide, drugs, etc. And to be honest, I don't especially care if they offend people, but I do find it rather interesting. –And that is why I made a new poll on my profile page. So go vote on that, please! I'm eagerly awaiting the results. Yay!**


	13. Chapter 13

**First and foremost, THIS STORY CONTAINS NO REAL PEOPLE. It does, however, contain characters from Hannah Montana. I don't own these characters.**

**Thank you for all the stellar reviews from last chapter. I'm honestly SO appreciative and honored that you're enjoying the story and that you care enough to tell me so. You're all so fantastic!**

**And now that my customary pre-chapter gushing is out of the way, enjoy!**

Joe stared at Kevin. "So that's it then? I'm just supposed to let it happen?"

"Well, if you really care about her…" he reasoned.

Joe took a long breath. "Then I should want this for her because she wants it," he finished.

"You got it," Kevin said with a nod.

"Well that's kind of a letdown," Nick muttered. Joe was thinking the same thing but kept his mouth shut.

Kevin looked at him oddly. "What do you mean a 'letdown'? That was sound advice."

"I don't know. Joe was just all geared up. And if you ask me, the whole thing seems kind of strange… But whatever," he shrugged as he stood up. "I have to make a call."

"Don't you always…" Kevin grumbled, rolling his eyes, but Nick didn't seem to care and took off down the hallway. "Maybe you're just too young to recognize sage wisdom when you hear it," he called after him. There was no response.

Joe got up off the floor and sat down on the couch, taking the spot Nick had previously inhabited. "He is sorta right though. It's kind of a letdown."

Kevin sighed. Not Joe, too… "And why do you say that?" he asked, frustrated.

"Because even if it's better for her, I don't know what I'm going to do. I mean, don't get me wrong; I'll do it. But I don't know how I'm going to be able to handle not seeing her," Joe said limply as he stared out the window.

Kevin understood just what he was getting at. "When you break up with someone you've been with so long, it's like you lose a friend too."

Joe nodded. "Exactly. How am I going to get through every single damn day from now on without being able to be hug her, or hear her laugh, or just be around her…" He trailed off, not wanting to think up more reasons to be miserable.

"Maybe you don't have to. Maybe you could try just being her _friend_."

Joe looked over at him skeptically. "Friends? Yeah, because that always works out so well after a breakup. Genius. Kevin, ladies and gentlemen," he pandered to an imaginary crowd.

"Okay, you have a point," Kevin mused softly, taking it upon himself to stick to the issue at hand. "But come on; what's the harm in trying? As long as she's willing, of course."

Joe bobbed his head from side to side, considering the possibilities. "I don't know. Maybe. But I mean, even _if_ she wanted to, which is probably a stretch at this point, what if it's like torture, being so close to her but not being able to have her?" His voice dropped to a low growl. "And having to watch her with _him?_"

"Well, yeah, I guess that's the tradeoff. But at least you'd be seeing her. Besides, I'm pretty sure you'd be torturing yourself about it either way," Kevin pointed out.

Joe cracked half a smile in spite of himself. "Yeah, I've been pretty good at that lately." Pausing, he thought back over all the issues one more time. "Okay. I'll at least try." He stood up and grabbed his car keys, heading for the door.

"Whoa, cool your jets," Kevin said warningly. Joe gave him a puzzled look. "Well you can't just go over there now," he explained. "Give her a couple days to cool off or else she'll just hate your guts more than she already does."

Joe stopped and tossed his keys back down onto the table by the door. "Wow, you really know what to say to cheer a guy up, don't you?"

"I sure do," Kevin agreed, flipping on the TV and patting the spot next to him.

Joe let out another dramatic sigh and plopped back down onto couch. "If you say so. You are the keeper of the _'sage wisdom'_ after all…" he teased.

"You got it, brother." Kevin tossed him the remote and went back to reading his book.

Meanwhile, Nick was calling Miley. Something just didn't seem right with the whole Lilly situation.

"Hello?" Miley answered.

"Is Oliver dating anyone?"

"I'm great! How are you?" Miley replied sarcastically.

Nick rolled his eyes, but smiled nonetheless. "Okay, I'm sorry, but it's a little urgent."

Miley giggled. "Did you want me to set you guys up, or…"

"Not right now," Nick said with a grin. "I just need to know if he's seeing anyone."

"Yeah, I guess he just got a new girlfriend. Why?"

"I'll get to that," Nick said, denying her of her explanation. "Who is she?"

"I don't know. Lilly just told me he had a new girl. I didn't hear many details. Come to think of it, I'm not even sure I ever heard her name."

Nick frowned. "He _never_ mentioned her name?"

"No, I guess not, but he hasn't really been home all that much. First he went down to Arizona to visit his dad over break, and after he got back, he was only around for a few days before he started working like crazy again…"

"I see," Nick murmured, deep in thought.

Miley was incredibly confused by this point. "Why the sudden interest in Oliver's love life?"

"So you know absolutely nothing about her?"

"Only that they started dating like a couple weeks ago... Now would you like to share what the hell is going on?" Miley tried again.

Nick frowned, trying to decide if he should say anything. He was snapped back to reality by a loud "Still there?" He shook his head, pulling himself out of it and gathering his thoughts. "Well, I think I might know who Oliver's new girlfriend is…"

"What are you talking about? Who?"

"Um, Lilly?" he offered hesitantly.

"Wait, what?"

**Ohh, what do you guys think is going on??**

**So anyway, there was Chapter 13! Isn't that insane? Can you believe it's been THIRTEEN chapters already? You guys make this so extra fun! I hope you liked this chapter! As always, your reviews are much appreciated if you get the chance :o) See ya next time!**

**-Char**

**P.S. Vote on my poll if you haven't yet! Pleeeease? ;)**


	14. Chapter 14

**First and foremost, THIS STORY CONTAINS NO REAL PEOPLE. It does, however, contain characters from Hannah Montana. I don't own these characters.**

**Hey everyone!! I'm sorry for the LONG hiatus, and I'm sorry that I didn't get around to responding to my reviews from last chapter. But as always, all of my reviewers are AMAZING. Thank you SO much. **

**Now let's get back into the swing of things with a little interlude chapter. Hope you enjoy it.**

_**From Last Time:**_

_**Nick frowned, trying to decide if he should say anything. He was snapped back to reality by a loud "Still there?" He shook his head, pulling himself out of it and gathering his thoughts. "Well, I think I might know who Oliver's new girlfriend is…"**_

"_**What are you talking about? Who?"**_

"_**Um, Lilly?" he offered hesitantly.**_

"_**Wait, what?"**_

"You heard me. Lilly," Nick repeated.

Miley was a bit stunned. "Nuh-uh… There's no way they're _together_."

"Well, that's the word on the street."

"According to whom?"

"Lilly. And Oliver."

"When were you talking to Lilly and Oliver?"

"I wasn't."

"Well then how--" she began incredulously.

Nick cut her off. "But _Joe_ was."

"Joe," Miley mumbled, thinking. "You don't think they… ya know…"

"Made it up?" Nick filled in for her.

"Well yeah."

"You tell me."

She frowned, considering the options. "Well, I don't know. I mean, after _all this time_ they finally decide to date? I don't think I buy it…"

"But to lie about it," he went on.

"Is just so weird and… sitcom-y"

He chuckled lightly. "Right. Unless they just thought it'd be too awkward to tell everyone or something."

"Even _me_," Miley squeaked, thinly masking how insulted she was by the concept. Then another thought popped up. "Wait, what did Joe say about it? Did they seem sincere?"

"Joe believed them, but he…" Nick trailed off awkwardly.

"He doesn't always…" Miley continued just as awkwardly.

"Yeah," he answered, opting to just leave it there.

"Well," Miley began decisively, "guess I'm just gonna have to call her up."

Nick shook his head. "No you're not. Just… just give this a little time to play out. I mean, you can do a little recon, but use some finesse…"

She laughed. "That's _your_ department… but okay."

**So there we go. Think they're dating, making it up, anyone, anyone? Bueller?**

**Again, HUGE apologies. I love you ALL. Thanks to all the readers, extra thanks to the reviewers. I'll see ya soon on the next chapter!**

**-Charlotte**


	15. Chapter 15

**First and foremost, THIS STORY CONTAINS NO REAL PEOPLE. It does, however, contain characters from Hannah Montana. I don't own these characters.**

**Hey guys! I was so thrilled to see that people were still interested in reading this even after I made you all wait forever. So thanks again, and I'm super sorry! Now I'm back with a new REAL chapter!**

**P.S. – For those of you keeping track, last chapter was all "new material" (was never posted the first time around) and the tail end of this chapter is "new material" as well. So we're about to hit uncharted territory! Hope you all enjoy this next chapter!**

Kevin had told him that this would "get him out of the house" and therefore "be good for him," but as Joe struggled to find a decent cart, he began to get the feeling that all his brother really wanted was for the grocery shopping to get done. "Foiled again," Joe grumbled, and with a sigh, settled for the cart with only one wobbly wheel.

As he sauntered through the automatic doors, he pulled the list out of his pocket and cringed. So _this _was why he always refused to do the shopping. "The three of us honestly eat this much?" he whined aloud, attracting an odd glance from a nearby woman who was situating her toddler into her cart. He shrugged and went about his work.

Staring down at the list scrawled in his brother's familiar chicken scratch, it may as well have been in Greek. He didn't know where half of these things were, or what brand they usually got, or what kinds of everything Nick was allowed to eat. He continued to scan the list cluelessly until something finally caught his eye. _Lettuce. _Even he couldn't screw this one up.

And finding it definitely wouldn't be an issue. From his spot near the entrance he could already see the fruits, and the vegetables, and… and her…

He quickly looked around, as if searching for someone to tell him what to do about it. Did he dare approach her? He wanted to so badly. But was it a good idea? He wracked his brain and conscience simultaneously, knowing that it was vital that he didn't make the wrong decision. But all of that stopped when he looked up at her again and found himself nearly awe-struck. "My God, she's like the fucking angel of the produce aisle," he muttered, earning another disapproving look from the same female customer.

Before he was truly conscious of what was happening, he had already made his way over to her and was saying the first thing that popped into his head.

"Come here often?" he asked slyly. Uh-oh. She wasn't going to like that.

Lilly tensed. Not _again_. Not here…

Joe noticed the way she stiffened and quickly changed his tactic. "I'm sorry, I'm not funny. I-I shouldn't have said that to you. I just… Lilly," he said gently as he grabbed one of her shoulders and pulled her around to face him. "I just need to say one more thing," he pleaded.

"You don't know when to say when, do you, Joey?"

"Don't think I ever have," he replied with an innocent smile.

As she looked into his eyes, her skepticism began to melt away in spite of herself. She pursed her lips and thought about it. "Okay," she finally conceded, "you've got thirty seconds."

"I'll make it quick then," Joe grinned, happy that he had gotten through to her in some small way. And maybe, if he just kept trying, someday they could be _more_… But no, he couldn't think that way. If he pushed his luck, he felt there was a good chance she'd be out of his life forever. He was just going to make her his _friend. _

He'd mentally rehearsed this moment innumerable times, but now that she was standing in front of him and he finally had his chance, he froze. He opened his mouth dumbly several times; no words would come out. All the things that had sounded so good in his head when he'd planned this whole conversation a week ago seemed like ridiculous things to say to her now, and he just didn't know where to begin.

As the seconds ticked by and Joe remained silent, Lilly began to grow impatient. "Is that all?" she demanded, dramatically crossing her arms and tapping her foot.

He was losing her attention quickly. He needed to get on with it. "I'm not gonna try to pick you up, okay?" he blurted out hastily.

Lilly frowned. "Pardon me?"

Joe shook his head and chuckled at how tongue-tied she made him. "I'm sorry. I just… I want to be your friend, okay?" He could tell what she was thinking and quickly jumped back into his speech before she got the chance to protest. "And I know that maybe that sounds far fetched, and I probably don't even deserve that much, but I've learned my lesson. Or I'm _learning_ my lesson," he amended. "And I just don't think I can handle having to cut you out of my life completely."

She stopped and thought about it. "And you're not going to hit on me?" she clarified, his earlier remark finally making sense.

Joe shook his head.

"Because I've got Oliver now…" she continued uneasily.

"And I think that's great," Joe lied through his teeth. "All I want is to be your friend. Please, Lil?"

Lilly raised an eyebrow, silently refereeing the internal battle that seemed to plague her every time Joe's name came up. She liked to believe that she rooted for the logical side, but somewhere deep down inside she knew that wasn't really true. And so did Joe. At last she nodded, "Okay."

"Great," Joe smiled, trying his best to mask his enthusiasm. He didn't want to come on too strong. "So, uh, what're you up to?"

"What am I up to here at the _grocery store?_" Lilly repeated. She shrugged. "Oh, you know, picking up my dry cleaning, working on my taxes…"

Joe rolled his eyes. "Thanks, Captain Sarcasm."

"No problem, Captain Obvious," Lilly giggled as she continued down the row.

Joe bit his lip and smiled. He may be able to do this yet… "Um, and also…" he said shyly, catching up to Lilly and gesturing toward his list awkwardly.

"You don't know how to go grocery shopping," she finished for him. He shook his head, slightly embarrassed. "Okay, gimme," she sighed, grabbing the list. Joe grinned. "Lord knows I have experience," she laughed. "Seems like I'm here three times a week with the way Ollie goes through food."

Joe inhaled sharply and had to physically bite his tongue to keep from saying something snarky, but he managed. "Well, a guy's gotta eat," he joked weakly.

"Yeah," Lilly agreed, slightly surprised that Joe had passed on an opportunity to take some stupid dig at Oliver. "I guess so." Maybe this would work after all…

**So there was Chapter 15! I like this chapter. I think it's fun to see Joe doing his best to rein it in and behave himself… Does that make sense?...**

**Anyway, THANK YOU to all the readers, and an extra THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU to all the reviewers from last chapter and those who will review this one. Love you all! See you next chapter!**

**-Charlotte**


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